IPL chief Shukla: Ready to play Pakistan if government gives the nod

BCCI president Anurag Thakur had ruled out the possibility of a bilateral series against Pakistan, and following the Uri attack had requested the International Cricket Council to not place the Asian neighbours in the same group during the preliminary stages of global competitions.

However, Shukla, who is chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association, said the Board was not against playing Pakistan but were concerned about the security.

"The country's security is paramount. We are ready to play against Pakistan, but only after we get the nod from the government,” Shukla said.

Citing the 2009 terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricketers at the Lahore Stadium, Shukla questioned PCB’s capacity to provide security to players.

"They have a huge army, but can't it ensure security to a handful of cricketers? After the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers, why couldn't they assure other countries that it was a safe place for cricket? They should first answer these questions before talking about other nations," the Congress politician said.

The PCB will seek to censure Thakur for his “Pakistan sponsors terrorism” comment at the ICC meeting in Cape Town. Shukla said, “They are free to ask for a censure or anything, but first of all they should be asking themselves why they have to play their home matches at neutral venues.”

On the implementation of the reforms proposed by the Lodha Committee for the state associations, the UPCA chief said, "In the last meeting, Lodha Committee's recommendations were taken up clause by clause. Members discussed each point and placed their views. There were objections against some of the clauses while others were accepted.

“Now, it is once again up to the members to decide which ones to accept. We will wait till Monday before deciding our future action."